United Spirits appoints Anand Kripalu as CEO

Liquor firm United Spirits Ltd (USL) today said its Board has appointed Anand Kripalu as the Chief Executive Officer of the company with effect from May 1.

Since October 1, 2013 Kripalu has been CEO-Designate of the company, USL said in a BSE filing.

"Board of directors of the company at is meeting held on April 30, 2014, have appointed Anand Kripalu as the chief executive officer of the company with effect from May 1, 2014," the company said.

United Spirits' largest shareholder Diageo Plc is seeking to purchase an additional 26 per cent stake in the company.

On April 15, Diageo made an open offer worth Rs 11,448.91 crore to acquire an additional 26 per cent stake in United Spirits.

The increased stake in USL could give Diageo an influential position in the world's largest whisky market.

The company continues to expand in emerging economies.

Diageo has offered 3,030 rupees a share, or 114 billion rupees ($1.9 billion) for the stake in the Bangalore based business 18 per cent more than United Spirits' closing price on 11 April. The offer will be launched in June.

If the deal goes ahead, Diageo plans to keep USL listed on the Indian market.

An earlier tender offer from Diageo in 2012 failed, as the price was lower than the market price of USL at that time.

UK based Diageo is the world's largest producer of spirits. In terms of volume, United Spirits is the second largest spirits company in the world.

Diageo began its tie up with USL in 2012, when it bought its initial stake in the firm.